The Open Philanthropy Project awarded a grant of $1,100,000 to Humane Society International/India (HSI/India) to support farm animal welfare work in India over the next two years. This grant falls within Open Philanthropy’s work on farm animal welfare, specifically within its interest in farm animal welfare in Asia.
HSI/India is the Indian arm of Humane Society International, a nonprofit animal protection organization. This grant will provide funding to commission studies on the impact of factory farming in India and potential policy solutions; for staff expansion primarily in the areas of outreach and coalition-building, litigation, and policy; for operational costs; and for re-grants to grassroots animal welfare groups across India. Open Philanthropy is excited about the grant primarily because of HSI/India’s track record of promising litigation activities and network-building in India; the confidence Lewis Bollard (Open Philanthropy’s Program Officer for Farm Animal Welfare) has in HSI/India’s Executive Director; and the potential opportunity Open Philanthropy sees in India—one of the world’s largest producers of eggs, fish, and chicken—to encourage farm animal welfare reforms and advocacy. This grant was one of five recent grants made to various organizations supporting farm animal welfare activities in India.